Centennial High School mock trial students competed against others from China, Atlanta, Florida and Texas and took 10th place out of 28 teams, coach Brett Dobson said.

The team returned from the Empire San Francisco Mock Trial Tournament this weekend.

“It is basically a college-level mock trial tournament for high school students,” Dobson said.

Centennial won four ballots in all against three different teams while its students performed as both defense attorneys and prosecutors in a fictional civil suit involving a 16-year-old who was jailed and held in solitary confinement for years and suffered psychological trauma.

University of La Verne opens new campus in Bakersfield

The University of La Verne is celebrating the opening of its new campus at 10800 Stockdale Highway Thursday with a ribbon cutting.

The University of La Verne first opened its doors in Bakersfield in 1999 and has grown to offer almost two dozen undergraduate and graduate degree programs.

The ceremony will take place from 5 to 6:30 p.m.

Shafter school district awarded $25K for STEM education

Maple Elementary School District received a $25,000 grant this month through the America’s Farmers Grow Rural Education program to bolster its STEM offerings.

The district plans to use the money by creating an outdoor learning environment with gardening areas to grow vegetables, flowers and landscaping plants.

CSUB hosts LGBTQ pride week

Cal State Bakersfield is hosting a series of LGBTQ+ PRIDE events this week.

The week of events provides resources, meet and greets and several bonding events for those in the community.

“This is the second campus Pride Week and it is great to see students, faculty and staff coming together for great campus inclusion and visibility. CSUB has made great strides in supporting all diversity on campus,” Matthew McClellan, LGBTQ+ PRIDE co-chair.

Pride Week’s events include an “ally rally” at 6 p.m. Wednesday and an expression night at 7 p.m. with the theme of “Coming out stories.” Both events are held at the Stockdale Room. There will be a screening of “Hocus Pocus” at 7 p.m. Friday at Alumni Park and a Pride Volleyball Game at 7 p.m. Oct. 19 at the Icardo Center to close Pride Week.

SBBCollege donates tablets to BHS band

SBBCollege Bakersfield is donating 100 Amazon Kindle Fire tablets to Bakersfield High School’s marching band Thursday to support technology in education, school officials announced.

The tablets will allow students to learn marching drills and read sheet music conveniently, SBBCollege Bakersfield officials said.

“Having all of their reference material with them during an entire rehearsal, instead of running to the sidelines to check their pages, would greatly improve the learning potential of our students,” Randy Bennett, instrumental music director at BHS, said.

BCSD Education Foundation seeking board members

The Bakersfield City School District Education Foundation is seeking to fill vacancies on its board of directors.

The foundation is a charitable, nonprofit organization that partners with community members to provide resources that impact children through innovative educational programs.

“Our children are the future of our community,” said Alphonso Rivera, president of the BCSD Education Foundation Board of Directors, who has served since 2012. “Having more resources available to teachers in the classroom can directly impact a student’s success.”

To apply for a vacant board seat, submit a letter of interest to bcsdef@bcsd.com.

Harold Pierce covers education and health for The Californian. He can be reached at 661-395-7404. Follow him on Twitter @RoldyPierce